Jerusalem and Bethlehem – Jordan and the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel are just a stone’s throw from each other, at least geographically speaking. All it takes is crossing the King Hussein Bridge, which goes over the River Jordan to the north of the Dead Sea. In practice, though, red tape, security measures and working hours at border checkpoints may render the trip somewhat complicated. If you want to know the entire Holy Land without setbacks, it is best to seek information on the procedures before travelling.
Aside from the wonderful religious and historic monuments, it is worth visiting this conflicted region in order to gain a more realistic view of local problems. The intensity and duration of the disputes between Israelis and Palestinians are infinitely larger than the territory in question.
The distance between Bethlehem and Ramallah, controlled by the Palestinian National Authority, and Jerusalem, under Israeli control, is minimal by Brazilian standards. Travelling from one point to the other would be roughly like going from the Paulista avenue to the centre of the city of São Paulo, or from the centre of Rio de janeiro to the Copacabana neighbourhood.
The problem is, halfway through the path there is a wall (built in 2004 by the Israeli government) and several border checkpoints – there are approximately 600 in the West Bank alone –, which makes moving across the region much more complicated than the short distances would lead one to believe.
This does not stop the flow of tourists from seeking the holy and historic spots on both sides of the wall, but makes life hard for Palestinian citizens who need authorization from the Israeli government in order to go to work in Jerusalem, for instance.
It is worth reminding that up until 1967, when the Six-Day War took place, Eastern Jerusalem was under Arab rule and the United Nations (UN) considers it occupied Palestinian territory, even though many families are separated by the wall.
The 800-kilometre-plus wall that surrounds the West Bank is ugly, resembling prison walls. And this is how many Palestinians feel. “We are confined in an open-air prison,” said the vice-mayor of Bethlehem, George Sa’adeh.
Just like the Berlin wall, and many others in cities worldwide, the West Bank Wall has become a target of artistic manifestations. Graffiti artists have already left their impressions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and on the structure itself. In Palestine, street art represents the people’s feelings.
Native City
Upon entering the West Bank, however, do not expect to find only poverty. Despite the region’s high unemployment rate, Bethlehem, for example, is a good-looking, clean, neat city.
Its main tourist attraction is the Church of the Nativity, which marks the place in which Christians believe Jesus Christ to have been born. Just like the Holy Land in itself, many local historic and religious monuments are also divided. The Church of the Nativity is in fact a complex of buildings with parts belonging to the Greek Orthodox, to the Armenian Christians, and to the Roman Catholics.
The first church was built there at the time of Emperor Constantine, who adopted Christianity as Rome’s official religion, by his mother, Helena. The structure that exists today is basically the one erected by the Byzantine emperor Justinian, with additions dating back to the time of the Crusades.
Underneath the orthodox altar there lies a grout. Inside, a silver star marks the place of birth. This exact location belongs to the Orthodox Church. Across from it there is another niche, with a painting showing where the manger used to be. This other location belongs to the Roman Catholic Church.
Holy city: attention to the habits
There is a similar division in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, in Jerusalem, built upon the places where Christ was crucified and buried. The complex labyrinth-like space encompasses the entire Mount Calvary, upon which altars of different Christian denominations are built. Glass panels placed next to these structures enable visitors to see the original rock.
Right below, at the entrance to the church, lies the rock on which the body of Jesus was prepared for burial, and further into the temple a chapel marks the burial site. Christians believe that Christ resurrected, therefore, there obviously is no body inside the Holy Sepulchre, just an altar on a stone structure.
Jerusalem is a holy city for Christians, Jews and Muslims alike, and in order to know its religious sites well, one must pay attention to the peculiarities of each of those beliefs.
Temple Mount, the location of the Dome of the Rock, is the third holiest place in Islam, because it was there that Mohammed ascended to heaven, the Muslims believe. After the second Intifada (Palestinian uprising), however, access on Fridays was restricted to Muslims. Friday is the day of communal prayer and rest, and is the rough equivalent of what Sunday is to Christians.
The west end of Temple Mount, where the mosques are located, is the site of the Wailing Wall, the holiest place for Jews. The Sabbath, a period of rest and prayer, starts at sunset, and even though all are allowed to visit the site, taking photographs is forbidden during Sabbath.
Read tomorrow (27th) an article on Petra
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum